Northeast El Paso rancher Jimmy Bowen dies

Rancher Jimmy Bowen, the owner of the 88,000-acre Bowen Ranch in Northeast El Paso and Southern New Mexico, died Wednesday in El Paso. Bowen's family moved to the area about 70 years ago. (Mark Lambie / Times file photo)

El Paso's cowboy, Jimmy Bowen, rode off into his final sunset Wednesday night.

The owner of the 88,000-acre Bowen Ranch in Northeast El Paso and Southern New Mexico died from natural causes, surrounded by his children. He was 79.

Bowen was one of the last true working cowboys in the El Paso area.

"When people think about El Paso and the Old West, they think about Jimmy," Mayor John Cook said. "He was a real cowboy. He will be missed. He was like a dying breed."

El Paso Sports Commissioner Brian Kennedy said Bowen was old-fashioned in all the right ways.

"He could shake your hand, and you could take it to the bank," Kennedy said. "You can't replace guys like that. He was a genuine article."

Until his death, Bowen owned, operated and lived on the ranch.

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"I want to be here until I'm gone," Bowen said last year in an El Paso Times interview. "As far as the ranch, I feel confident that it would still be here" 10 to 20 years from now.

His son, Rick Bowen, said his father had become ill over the weekend.

"His heart just gave out," Rick Bowen said. "He had heart problems for the last two years."

Rick Bowen, 57, had flown to El Paso to spend the weekend with his father because of his medical condition.

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"That's why I am in town," Rick Bowen said. "So it wasn't completely unexpected. I got to see him."

Mike Bowen, 59, and Jodie Bowen Newby, 52, Jimmy Bowen's two other children, were also in El Paso for their father's death.

Rick Bowen said the family would determine funeral arraignments and other details today.

Jimmy Bowen was getting ready to celebrate his 80th birthday on Nov. 10.

The Bowen family first moved to the El Paso area about 70 years ago, when Jimmy Bowen was 7. As an adult he served in the Army and later attended Texas Tech University.

He then started a construction company, came back to El Paso in 1953 and started Bowen Ranch.

"Sixty years ago, I couldn't have ever fantasized that we'd still be here," Jimmy Bowen had said. "I still love it every day."

The ranch is on the Old Salt Trail, which was used to transport livestock through the Franklin Mountains to the Salt Flats near Carlsbad, using the Anthony Gap.

"Think there is a lot of history here and we are glad to be a part of it," Bowen said last year.

As time went on, he kept adding on to his land.

"I just bought small portions and built it from there," Bowen said. "As other ranchers quit, I bought from them.

"It's great, but it took us many years to acquire it."

At one point the ranch encompassed more than 150,000 acres, nearly half of it leased from the Public Service Board. It used to cross over the Franklin Mountains into the West Side of town.

The ranch carries four breeds of cattle -- Herefords, Brahmans, longhorns and Brafords, a combination of Herefords and Brahmans.

The cattle are raised at the ranch and then sold and shipped to a slaughterhouse.

"Whenever you have a ranch like this in the city limits, it is quite an attraction," Bowen had said. "It's unique for the area, because this is how it was hundreds of years ago."

Over time, Bowen expanded the ranch's capabilities. The main facilities host parties, tours and weddings, and the Edge of Texas restaurant has blossomed at the end of U.S. 54 and Dyer Street.

"What he tried to do was remind people of that portion of our history," Kennedy said. "It was like you were stepping back in time."

Cook compared Bowen to the likes of John Wayne and said he was a part not only of El Paso's past but also of its future.

"This place has changed so much from a dusty little Western town, and it has become a big city," Cook said. "Jimmy always kept its history, but he never resisted its change or progress."

Part of Bowen's longevity was his charm and charisma.

"He could disagree with you adamantly and then say, 'Now, let's go get dinner,' " Kennedy said. "That's something we could all use in today's world, and to be honest I don't see it around a whole bunch."

Bowen was also a devoted family man. Both Kennedy and Cook said his children were raised with respect and old-fashioned values. Cook said Bowen had a special love for his wife, Betty "Bucky" Bowen, who died a few years ago.

She was co-owner of the ranch and restaurant, and was co-owner and president of Bowen Enterprises, among other endeavors.

"He had a good life and I know he was really saddened when his wife died," Cook said. "So I am very glad he is going be with her again."

Yet El Paso is left with a Texas-size void.

"This is a day that a part of El Paso died with him," Kennedy said. "He symbolized so much of El Paso's history and now he is gone. It's hard."

Aaron Bracamontes may be reached at abracamontes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6156. Follow him on Twitter @AaronBrac.